The Mourning After
by Snoopy7
Summary: UPDATED!!!
1. Default Chapter

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
A/N: This is the third story in a series of stories, beginning with Hanging by a Moment, and then followed by Right Place, Right Time. Please read those two stories before you read this one, or else it won't make any sense.  
  
I do not own Everwood, or any of the characters in this story, but in later chapters I might. Everwood is the property of the WB.  
Ephram ran into Annette McMillan's house, trying to catch his breath. He searched through the whole place, trying to find the girl, but she was nowhere. He then realized he hadn't checked the bathroom, and so he slowly walked towards the door, it was shut. He crept towards it, knowing that the one this he didn't want to see would be on the other side.  
  
As he slowly turned the knob, his fear worsened. He could see a girl's hand, and then an arm, and then her body appeared. Annette was lying on the floor with a medicine bottle clutched in her right hand, she was dead.  
  
Ephram practically collapsed to the floor, he legs buckled underneath him, so that he couldn't stand anymore. He tried crying, but the only thing that came out was, 'Why?'  
  
Then, to his surprise, Annette opened her eyes. She looked straight at Ephram, and never once blinked. She sat up and asked, "Why, Ephram?"  
  
Ephram was still in a little bit of shock at the sight of this girl actually sitting up, but he contained himself and questioned her, "What are you talking about? Why, what?"  
  
Annette kept a straight face, "Why did you let this happen to me? Why did you let me die?"  
  
Ephram couldn't move, it felt like his heart had stopped, and Annette just kept looking at him, saying, "Why, why, why?" He could feel his lungs getting tight; it was hard for him to breathe. He tried taking a breath, but couldn't.  
  
******  
  
It was 9:45pm and Andy heard an odd sound come from Ephram's room as he walked down the hallway. He turned and put his ear up to the door, and then ran in. He looked down at Ephram, who was on his bed asleep, and saw that he was gasping for air.  
  
"Oh my god, Ephram." Andy started shaking him, and that was when he realized that his son was soaked with his own sweat, "Ephram, wake up!" Andy kept shaking Ephram, but he wouldn't wake up.  
  
Andy finally got so worried that he shook Ephram as hard as he possibly could.  
  
With that final jolt, Ephram sat up in bed, taking one deep breath in the process. He began to cough after that breath, and he couldn't stop.  
  
Andy ran out of the room and came back with a glass of water, Ephram downed that immediately. Finally, after a second, Ephram could talk. "Dad, what happened?" He was still disoriented.  
  
"I would like to know the exact same thing." Andy sat on the edge of Ephram's bed.  
  
"I," He had to think for a minute, but after he got everything together, Ephram could explain what he could remember; "I had a dream about Annette. It was horrible. She was dead one minute, and then sitting up and accusing me of letting her die the next." Ephram took one deep breath after another, "But the worst part was," Andy knew what Ephram was going to say, "I think she was right."  
  
******  
  
Ephram had fallen asleep not long after that. Andy couldn't say anything to him, because everything he thought of, he knew would get a reply like, 'You weren't there, dad.' or 'It WAS my fault, you wouldn't know.'  
  
He hated seeing his son like this, but there was nothing he could do. It had been a week after Annette's death, and Ephram was going through one of the hardest times of his life, and it was getting harder.  
  
******  
  
Ephram slowly opened his eyes to see the sound of his alarm clock. He hated that beeping noise that it made. He had always said that he wanted to get rid of it, but he knew his dad would get angry, so he didn't.  
  
Ephram hit the clock with his left hand, and then sat up in bed, eyes still half closed, "Why did my alarm go off? I didn't set it."  
  
"Because you're going to school today," Andy walked into the room with Ephram backpack and started putting schoolbooks into it, "You seem to be better to me, and you could use some friends right now."  
  
Ephram hadn't said anything about what he did to Amy, or what Bright did to him, the day that Annette died. He just let things go, and made some stupid excuse to cover the bruises on his face, which he couldn't remember what that excuse was anymore.  
  
But now Ephram was going back to school to see his 'friends' and there was nothing he could do about it. He knew he would have to face them eventually, but he didn't expect it to be this soon. He didn't want it to be this soon, but he had to deal with that, his dad wouldn't take no for an answer.  
  
"If you could leave me alone for a minute, I could get ready for school." Ephram stood up and walked over to his dresser, "I'm pretty sure things would go faster that way."  
  
Andy gave Ephram a small smile and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He walked towards the stairs, but stopped when he heard Delia open her room door.  
  
"Sweetie, are you going to be ready for school in time?"  
  
"Yes daddy." He heard the door recluse, ad couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"Kids these days, whatever happened to responsibility?" He started walking towards the stairs again; it was time to fix a quick breakfast for the family.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had gotten ready faster than ever, and was now in the kitchen ready to leave, "You need to eat before you go." Andy handed Ephram a plate with something that was supposed to be French toast on it.  
  
"Uh," Ephram looked at the crispy black pieces of brick on his plate, "I'm not really very hungry...At least not for that." Ephram walked out the door and headed towards the car.  
  
"Delia, you need to hurry up!" Andy was frantically getting things ready for that day, because he had gotten a late start, and Delia still hadn't been heard from since she went back into her room.  
  
"I'm coming daddy!" Little stomps came down the steps in a hurry, "What's for breakfast?" She pushed herself up onto one of the stools at the kitchen island.  
  
"French toast, do you want any?" Andy offered her a plate, but with a look of disgust she turned it away.  
  
"You really need to let Ephram cook more, it would be better for all of us." She hopped down and headed for the door.  
  
"I'm not that bad of a cook." He followed her, and they both went to the car.  
  
******  
  
Ephram was dropped off at school just before the bell rang, he ran to class, but when he got there the door was shut. He wasn't late, which is why he found it weird.  
  
He put his ear up to the door to see what was going on, and to his surprise, he heard his name.  
  
"We need to give Ephram Brown a little slack, okay? He's going through a really rough time right now, and I don't think he needs any one of you picking on him, got it?" Ephram heard his math teacher speaking to the class. He was less than happy, but more than angry. He really didn't know what to think of his teachers talk. Was it sympathy, or just something the principal told all the teachers to say?  
  
Either way he walked into the class, acting like he hadn't heard a thing. He looked over at the far right corner of the room, and there was Amy, sitting at her desk, looking at him with sympathetic eyes.  
  
'I don't need this right now. I can deal with this just fine.' He thought to himself. But if he had known how hard of a day he had ahead of him, then maybe he would have thought something different.  
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, I haven't really been able to get to my computer lately, and I also haven't been able to think of a good start to this story, so this chapter might suck, and if it does, I'm sorry about that too. PLEASE review and tell me how it's going so far. I promise it will get better, I just need time, this story isn't going to be one of my 'get a chapter every other day' things, I can't think that fast with this one. Like I asked before PLEASE review, it is greatly appreciated. 


	2. Letting It Out

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
A/N: This is the third story in a series of stories, beginning with Hanging by a Moment, and then followed by Right Place, Right Time. Please read those two stories before you read this one, or else it won't make any sense.  
  
I do not own Everwood, or any of the characters in this story, but in later chapters I might. Everwood is the property of the WB.  
The bells indicating that first period was over rang loud and clear in Ephram's ears. He was half asleep when they rang, and so he jumped up when he heard them. He quickly gathered his books and stuffed them in his backpack. As he stood up and started walking toward the door, he heard someone calling him. He knew right away who it was.  
  
"Ephram, wait up!" Amy ran toward him, pulling the strap of her backpack over her shoulder, "Hey, how are you?" She said breathlessly as she caught up with him.  
  
He kept walking, hoping she would get the idea, but after a few seconds he decided to answer, "I've been better." He kept a straight face.  
  
"I'd imagine. I am so sorry about Annette."  
  
He didn't even want to hear that name, let alone get sympathy about a person nobody even knew, "Could we talk about something else please?" Ephram quickly snapped his head toward Amy with an unhappy look on his face.  
  
Amy stepped back a little, but then came back to Ephram, "Sorry." They walked in silence for a minute, but then Amy broke it, "I'm sorry about what my brother did to you last week; I had my dad get on to him." Ephram just rolled his eyes, but Amy didn't see, "Ooh, you still have a nasty cut on your face from that fight."  
  
"Amy, it was like five against one, I'm surprised I didn't wind up in the hospital." Ephram was in no mood to talk right now, and he was letting Amy know it in his own way.  
  
She gave him a stern look and then let out a heavy sigh, "Well, I have to go to class now, but I'll see you later." She darted off toward study-hall and disappeared around a corner.  
  
"Let's hope not." Ephram had decided earlier that week to keep everyone else out of his life, and that included Amy.  
  
******  
  
Lunch slowly showed itself as the day progressed, and that was a relief to Ephram. His head had started spinning after 3rd period, but he didn't say anything about it. As he walked into the cafeteria he looked around the room. He quickly walked passed the jocks table, where Bright and his buddies were sitting, and headed for a small secluded table in a corner.  
  
Not to Ephram's surprise, Bright had seen him. He walked over to Ephram's table and sat down. Nothing was said for a minute, but he didn't care. Finally Ephram opened his mouth, "Did you come here for a reason or is there something interesting on the floor?"  
  
Bright lifted his head and revealed a tearstained face, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Whoa dude, this is bad for your rep, what are you doing?" Ephram looked around the room making sure no one was watching, "What are you sorry about?"  
  
"About everything...I got mad last week, man. I didn't mean to bust you up like that, it just happened." Bright looked down at the floor again, "And I'm sorry about Anne..."  
  
"Don't say her name." Ephram quickly interrupted him, "Don't EVER SAT HER NAME!!!" Ephram yelled, which made Bright jump, and the rest of the cafeteria stare at him. It took about five seconds for Ephram to figure out what he had just done, and when he did he immediately stood up and walked away.  
  
Amy's watched with concerned eyes as he left the room, but he didn't pay attention to anyone, so he didn't notice. She just stared at the door after he left. Amy was brought back to reality by a hand waving in her face, "Hello, earth to Amy. Are you even listening to me?" One of Amy's friends was trying to get her attention.  
  
"What? Oh, sorry, go on." Amy didn't really care what the girl was saying, but she knew she should at least pretend to listen. Soon after the girl started on again about how she had picked out some outfit at a mall someplace and planned on wearing it the next day, Amy lost interest after that.  
  
******  
  
As soon as Ephram got out of the caf he felt free. When he was in that room he felt like he could hardly breathe, and that scared him. He went straight for the front doors of the school when he left the lunch room, and didn't plan on turning back. A teacher called his name, but he didn't turn around, he just kept walking.  
  
He made it outside and was soon stared at as he walked off the campus, but he didn't care, all he wanted to do is get out of there, and that's what he did. He ran across the street, not really caring where his feet carried him.  
  
Soon he wound up on the bridge between Everwood and Chestnut, and he stopped there. His emotions got the best of him, he had been fighting back tears the whole way, and he though he could handle it, but he was wrong.  
  
He slowly sank to the ground and leaned against the guardrails of the bridge, gasping for breath one the way down. He was trying to keep from crying when he hit the ground, but it was no use, a few tears had already escaped his eyes. He soon just started letting it all out. His shoulders shook furiously as he cried and cars flew past, just like the time did.  
  
******  
  
Ephram had been crying so much it hurt, but he couldn't stop. Finally, after about 2 hours, he forced himself up off of the ground, still crying, and started walking. He headed back into town and home.  
  
He had only walked half a mile when his dad's SUV pulled up beside him. Rolling down the window, Andy started talking to Ephram, who had stopped crying now, "Where have you been? Everyone in town has been looking all over for you. When Amy said she couldn't find you I freaked out!" His voice started rising with every word.  
  
Ephram stopped, but didn't look up. He kept looking at his feet, shuffling them around on the ground. Finally he just turned to the car and got in, not saying a word. Andy looked at him, but decided not to ask, because Ephram didn't look like her was in a talking mood, which he wasn't.  
  
When they got home Ephram quickly got out of the car and ran into the house. He ran right past his little sister sitting on the living room couch and went up to his room, slamming the door once he was in.  
  
"Daddy," Delia stared at her father as he walked inside, "What's wrong with Ephram?"  
  
Andy looked at her with gentle look of concern, and then looked up the stairs, "Something that is going to take a long time to heal, sweetie."  
  
"What do you mean?" Delia was a little confused by what was just said, "Is he hurt?"  
  
Andy laughed a little, "No, Delia, he's not hurt." He sat down on the couch and pulled Delia into his lap. He sat there for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain it to her, and then he got it, "Do you remember when your mother died, how much it hurt your heart to lose her?"  
  
"Yeah." She gave a simple answer.  
  
"Well, that's what it feels like when you're heartbroken, and that's what Ephram is like right now. He's going through a really hard time, and his heart hurts." Andy felt a knot form in his throat when he said that, "But this time it's going to take a longer time to heal than it did with your mother."  
  
"Is it because of that girl he was always with?"  
  
Andy's smile was gone by that time, "Yes, it was because of that girl." After that everything was quiet.  
  
******  
  
Ephram sat on his bed, trying to keep from crying again. He wanted to talk to his dad on the way home, but every time he tried to open his mouth, it felt like he was going to cry again, so he didn't.  
  
He lay down and covered up, making a decision then and there. He wasn't going to talk to anyone about Annette, and if they talked to him about her, or told him they were sorry about what happened, he would just walk away like he did in the cafeteria. It seemed like an easy solution to a very difficult problem, but little did he know that was only the beginning of his problems. 


	3. Stumbling and Falling

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
A/N: This is the third story in a series of stories, beginning with Hanging by a Moment, and then followed by Right Place, Right Time. Please read those two stories before you read this one, or else it won't make any sense.  
  
I do not own Everwood, or any of the characters in this story, but in later chapters I might. Everwood is the property of the WB.  
Andy went up to Ephram's room and knocked on the door, only to be greeted by silence. He knocked again, but got the same thing, "Ephram," He finally said, "What are you doing in there?" He received no answer, "Ephram open the door."  
  
Andy wasn't going to just barge into his son's room, he was having enough difficulty getting through to him, and intruding into his room would only make it worse. 'Please Ephram,' Andy thought to himself, 'please open the door.'  
  
Just then there was a noise on Ephram's side of the door, like someone falling onto the floor, "Ephram, are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah," a quiet voice answered back, "I'm fine." There were a few more thumping noises, and then the doorknob started to turn. The door opened up and revealed Ephram leaning against the wall with his hand.  
  
Andy didn't like what Ephram looked like, and he was beginning to get worried, "You don't look very okay." Andy stepped into the room and grabbed Ephram by the shoulders, taking him over to his bed, "Here, sit down."  
  
"Dad, I'm fine." Ephram tried pushing away, but began to get dizzy as he moved so he let his dad sit him down, "Maybe not." He held his head and put his elbows on his knees.  
  
"I'm going to go get you some water." Andy ran out of the room and went into the bathroom, grabbed a little paper cup, put water into it, and quickly ran back to Ephram, "Drink this, it might make you feel better."  
  
Ephram took the water and then pointed to his desk, "There are some pain pills over there could you hand them to me?"  
  
Andy grabbed the bottle and gave it to his son, "Are you in pain?"  
  
Ephram took a sip of water and nodded at the same time. "A little," he answered swallowing the cold fluid, "My head hurts a little bit, but I'll be fine."  
  
Andy wasn't sure what to say, so he didn't, he just walked out of the room and went into his room. He had to figure something out, because he knew something was wrong with Ephram, but he didn't know what, and that scared him more than ever.  
  
******  
  
Amy sat in her room at her desk, staring at her diary with a pen in her hand, contemplating whether or not to write about the days events. She finally made a decision and touched the pen to the paper:  
  
Dear Diary, Today has been interesting. Ephram came back to school, I was so happy to see him again, but something was different about him. He looked different, tired, like he hadn't slept in days, or at least hadn't had a good night's rest in a few days. He saw me in first period, but he didn't look as happy to see me as I was him. I think something is wrong with him. He got mad at Bright at lunch, telling him never to say that name again, but I don't know what he meant by that. By the end of lunch Ephram was already gone. He had left school grounds, but I don't know where he went. Dr. Brown called earlier and told me Ephram was at home safe and sound, but he didn't say anything else. I'm really worried about him, both of them. Dr. Brown must be going through a lot, trying to help out Ephram, and who knows what's going on with him? I think I'm going to go over there tomorrow and see if Ephram wants to talk. I know it's probably a bad idea, but I can't just sit back and do nothing, Ephram was my boyfriend, and I miss him. I have to get him back, even if he doesn't want me. He needs my help.  
  
Amy  
  
******  
  
Ephram sat on his bed, leaning his head up against his wall. He felt horrible, and he didn't know why. He thought it might have been because he was so upset, and that's why he got so dizzy and had a headache, but there was more to it now. His stomach was tossing even if he lay still, and his heart was racing every once in a while.  
  
He decided that it was just because of exhaustion from that day, and to leave it at that. He didn't think anymore of it as he slowly stood up to leave his room and go downstairs.  
  
He walked down the hallway and reached the stairs, feeling better every step, or so he thought. About halfway down he started to feel queasy, but didn't feel bad enough o run to the bathroom. Then, all of a sudden, dizziness hit him full force. He tried grabbing the rail that was connected to the wall, but his vision was blurred, so he couldn't see straight, or reach the wooden pole in time. His body began falling forward, and he could hear Delia screaming at him.  
  
"Ephram, no!!" The little girl was terrified as she watched her bother stagger and then tumble down the stairs. She had never seen him like this, and she never wanted to again. He fell to the bottom of the stairs with a loud and painful thud, and Delia ran straight to him, "Ephram are you okay?" Delia placed her hands on her brother's motionless body. His eyes were closed.  
  
A small groan came from him as he tried rolling over. He opened his eyes and turned enough so that he could see Delia's eyes looking at him with more worry than he had ever imagined. It made him smile a little, but not for long. He quickly closed his eyes again and whispered loud enough so Delia could barely hear him, "Go get dad."  
  
Delia shot up the stairs like a speeding bullet and didn't stop. Ephram managed to pull himself slowly over to the couch, inch by inch the pain increased. His legs were sore and his head was in excruciating pain. He finally reached the leather sofa just as he heard footsteps quickly moving in the hall upstairs.  
  
He threw an arm up to the arm of the couch and grasped at the leather. When he got his grip he pulled up, but didn't make it very far. Andy came downstairs just as Ephram's head was halfway between the floor and the top of the arm of the couch.  
  
"Ephram what happened?" He asked with a great sound of worry in his voice.  
  
Ephram turned his head so that he could see his dad, but when he did that the pain went from excruciating to unbearable. With his arm still clinging to the leather he tried to speak, but no words came out. Tears began forming in his eyes which made it impossible for Ephram to see.  
  
Andy watched in horror as his son's hand let go of the couch and he fell limp to the floor. Ephram's body hadn't been able to handle the pain it was feeling, and so it shut itself down. The last thing Ephram had remembered was his fathers eyes staring at him, but that was something he would soon forget. 


	4. Helping Ephram

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
Ephram could feel himself being moved, but he didn't know where to. He quickly realized that he was on the couch at his house, with his dad standing beside him. When he was fully aware of everything that was going on, he could feel all the pain rush back into his body. He quickly sat up screaming, but started screaming louder because he did that.  
  
"Whoa, Ephram, son, its okay, you're alright." Andy pulled Ephram into his arms and hugged him, not planning on letting go any time soon.  
  
"No I'm not." Ephram's voice came out in a raspy whisper, which Andy didn't like the sound of, "My head hurts, and so does my back." He pulled away from and lay back down, "I'm, I uh..." Ephram couldn't talk straight; he closed his eyes and held his head, "I'm really, really dizzy, dad."  
  
Andy looked at Ephram and felt tears forming in his eyes, "You're going to be alright, Ephram, I promise."  
  
He reopened his eyes and looked around wildly, "The room is spinning. What's going on, dad? I, I can't see straight...Oh god!" Ephram stood up the best he could, only to fall to the floor again. He tried getting to the bathroom in time, but the kitchen sink was all of a sudden his next option.  
  
Ephram threw up the little lunch he had had, and then tried making his way back to the couch; he didn't make it all the way. His vision was beginning to get blurry, not just things spinning around, but blurry.  
  
"Da...Dad, where are you?" Andy looked over at Ephram and quickly ran to his son's side. Ephram's legs fell limp under him, and he was falling to the ground when Andy got there, just in time to catch him. Ephram's head fell into the pit of Andy's elbow, his eyes where still open, but Ephram didn't say anything or move at all.  
  
"You're going to be okay, Ephram, you're going to be okay." Andy kept repeating that to his son, but he was saying I to make himself feel better. He took Ephram back to the couch, and then went upstairs.  
  
Delia had been standing by the whole time, and when she saw her brother collapse the second time, it scared her more than ever. She walked to her brother's side and just sat on the floor next to him.  
  
After a minute the worry inside of her grew too much for her to bear, she finally just started crying and holding Ephram's hand. "Please be okay, Ephram," She managed to whisper through her tears, "I love you."  
  
******  
  
Ephram had only been asleep for an hour when Andy came downstairs. He looked so helpless, and there was nothing anyone could do to help him. All Andy could do was cover Ephram up with a blanket, and sit next to him until he woke up.  
  
Delia had gone upstairs only minutes before, so it was only Andy and Ephram downstairs. Andy got himself a cover and sat in one of the chairs around the couch. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and slowly fell asleep, praying that his son would be okay.  
  
He didn't want to call the hospital because he didn't know what was wrong, and he knew Ephram hated the place, so, for right now, it was out of the question.  
  
******  
  
Something made Ephram jump awake, but once his eyes were opened, he couldn't remember what. He looked around the room and finally his eyes fell on his father asleep in a chair nearby.  
  
"What is he doing down here?" Ephram whispered to himself, "He should be in his bed, and I should be in mine." Then all of a sudden Ephram remembered what had happened. Surprisingly he wasn't very sore, he had a small headache, and his neck hurt a little, but everything else seemed fine, he wasn't even dizzy anymore.  
  
He stood up and walked into the kitchen to get some water. The second the faucet turned on Andy was awake. He slowly stood up and walked into the kitchen also, "What are you doing?"  
  
Ephram quickly turned around, nearly dropping the glass in his hand, "What? Oh, just getting a glass of water." He smiled at his dad and took a big gulp.  
  
Andy was surprised at the sight of his son even standing, but he controlled the temptation to ask why he was up, "So how are you feeling?" that was all he could get out.  
  
"I'm feeling pretty good considering I fell halfway down the stairs." Ephram walked over to the table and sat down.  
  
"Could you be more specific?"  
  
"I have a little headache still, and my neck is sore, but other than that I'm fine." Ephram quickly stood back up, not wanting to talk about that right then, and walked out of the room.  
  
"Ephram," Andy chased him to the bottom of the stairs where he had stopped, "...I'm," he had to think of what to say, "I'm glad you're okay. Now go get some sleep, you have school tomorrow." Ephram rolled his eyes, smiled, and walked the rest of the way up the stairs.  
  
******  
  
Ephram lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, thinking.  
  
'What happened to me earlier today? Why did I pass out twice?' he couldn't figure out why he had felt so horrible then and felt fine now. He just thought it was because of all the stress that had been put on him lately, and so he left the thought alone.  
  
Ephram turned on his alarm, rolled over in bed, covered himself up, and fell asleep. If only doing that could have prepared him for the day to come, maybe he would have wound up on the good side of things, but it didn't, and neither did he. * * * Chapter 5: Saving Amy, coming soon. 


	5. Saving Amy

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
Beep, beep, beep! The alarm clock rang loud in Ephram's ear, making him jump up in bed, "What? I'm awake, I'm awake..." Ephram slapped the clock to make it shut up, 'No problems today, everything should go fine.' Ephram thought to himself as he got out of bed.  
  
"Ephram are you awake yet?" Andy's voice came through his room door.  
  
"Yeah dad, I'm awake." Ephram hated being checked up on, especially now, "I'll be down in a minute." He added.  
  
"Okay, just making sure you would be ready on time." Ephram let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes.  
  
He finished getting dressed, brushed his teeth, got his books together, and went downstairs, "Okay dad, I think I'm ready, do you want to go through a checklist to see if I've got everything, or can I go to school now, like a normal teenager."  
  
"Yeah, that's funny, I like that." Andy gave Ephram a fake smile and helped Delia with her backpack, "Are you ready to go Del?"  
  
She rolled her eyes and turned towards the door, "I've been ready for the past five minutes!" She walked outside.  
  
Andy walked past Ephram and stopped a few inches away from his face, "You really have to quit rubbing off on her." Ephram just smiled and followed Delia to the car.  
  
******  
  
Ephram barely made it into class on time, about five seconds before the bell rang. He quickly took his seat and put his pack on the floor next to him. He looked around the room for a minute, and then realized that everyone was staring at him.  
  
He tried to ignore it, but there was this one boy right next to him who just wouldn't go away. So finally Ephram looked at him, and just stared back. The boy got a little freaked out and opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again and turned away.  
  
Secretly, in the back corner, Amy was smiling at Ephram's ability to get rid of people, even if he didn't mean to. That's what made him stand out, his uniqueness is easier to spot than anyone else's, because he is a rebel, and he isn't afraid to show it.  
  
Normally people like Bright would stand up to him and try to pick a fight, but Ephram would stand on higher ground and stay there until the end, he wouldn't let people push him around, and that was what made him so loveable in Amy's eyes, but that was about to change, drastically.  
  
******  
  
Lunch came around and everything was going great, not one bad thing had happened to Ephram yet, notice the word 'yet'. He walked into the cafeteria and looked right at Bright's table, he noticed that Bright was looking back.  
  
He smiled, but didn't go over, he went back to that same table he had gotten the day before, the one that Bright never wanted to sit at again. Ephram put his books down and sat at the table thinking. He hadn't gotten food, and he wasn't going to. Or at least he didn't think he was going to.  
  
Son enough, though, Amy walked over to the table with two trays in her hand, and putting one down in front of Ephram she said, "Is this seat taken?"  
  
Ephram looked at the tray, and then at Amy, he was in a little bit of shock that she had even taken the time to get an extra tray for him, but he was even more shocked that she was standing there after the seen he had made in that exact place just the day before. He could have sworn that nobody would talk to him after that, and that was fine with him.  
  
But now he had a new obstacle standing in front of him. This was the one girl he had always like, truly, truly like, and she was standing right in front of him. Well, Ephram's brain kept telling him to pull back into reality, and so he did, he hadn't forgotten Amy's question, he had just failed to answer it, so she asked it again, "Is this seat taken?" She paused for a moment, and once again he didn't answer, "Ephram?"  
  
"What? Oh, Amy, hey. Um, no, no the seat isn't taken." Ephram had never messed up a stuttered so much in his life, and he didn't plan to again.  
  
When she finally sat down she looked at Ephram, and after a minute she had to ask, "Are you alright? You look kind of pale."  
  
Ephram knew it was because he was nervous, but he wasn't going to tell her that, she broke up with him, so why would she want him back? "I'm fine." That's all he could get out, he was too afraid of messing up again, so he didn't dare say anything more.  
  
Amy looked in doubt but decided to believe him, "Okay, if you're sure."  
  
"I'm sure." He only spoke in small sentences.  
  
Amy didn't know what to say, because the whole reason they were feeling so awkward around each other was because she broke up with him, and that was because of Annette, and she was dead. It left Amy in a very unusual place, so she said the only thing that came into her head, and that was the stupidest thing she could have ever done.  
  
"Ephram, what happened between you and Annette?"  
  
Ephram's head shot up, staring straight into Amy's now frightened eyes. Tears began to form in his own eyes, but he tried hiding them, not succeeding in any way.  
  
"Come on Ephram, you can tell me." Amy walked over beside him.  
  
"No I can't." He spoke in a small whisper.  
  
"Yes you can, I'm you're friend, remember?"  
  
"Since when?"  
  
"What? Ephram what are you talking about?"  
  
"Since when are you my friend?" Ephram's voice rose, "Last I checked you hated me! When did that change, Amy? Huh? When did that change?" He stood from his seat, and all of a sudden flashbacks of the day before filled his memory, "You broke up with me if you don't remember! I didn't want you to leave, but you did, you left me to be alone Amy, and that's the way I want to stay!"  
  
Amy backed away from Ephram; she was too scared to go near him. He had never yelled at her like this. She didn't like this side of him; something had changed in him, something big.  
  
"You know what Amy, I think it's a good thing you hate me!" Ephram was screaming now.  
  
"I don't hate you Ephram, you're my friend, and I've already told you that."  
  
"Well then I guess that's your loss, because you aren't my friend."  
  
"What? Ephram, what has gotten into you?" Amy's voice was very shaky.  
  
"You have Amy! You were the only thing keeping me alive when we were going out, and then all of a sudden you break up with me! I was trying to save someone's life when you did that, Amy. You broke my heart, and I couldn't have done anything to get you back! You hated me then Amy, and you know what, I hate you now!" Ephram WAS acting weird, but he was angry. He had never acted like that before, but he didn't notice anything different about himself.  
  
Amy just stared at Ephram in disbelief, and everyone else stared at the both of them. Amy didn't notice anyone looking at her, the only thing she noticed was the way Ephram was acting, "You don't mean that."  
  
"Uh, yeah I do, Amy!" Ephram didn't move, he just stayed standing beside his fallen chair.  
  
"You can't mean that." Amy didn't want Ephram hating her, she loved him, and she was going to have to show him that somehow. But that was the problem, she didn't know how.  
  
"Amy, how long will I have to stand here and tell you this? I HATE YOU!" Ephram yelled loud enough for the whole school to hear.  
  
Amy didn't dare talk to him again. She looked at him one last time to see if there was any shred of regret in his face, and then she grabbed her backpack and ran out of the room, and then out of the school. She didn't want to be there then. The one thing she didn't know was that she was leaving at the exact same time Ephram had the day before...Except she wasn't going to get home as easily.  
  
******  
  
Ephram all of a sudden realized what he had said, when it was too late. Amy was already gone, out of the school building. He just looked at Bright in shock, and amazingly Bright knew that Ephram was VERY sorry.  
  
He kept looking at Ephram mouthing, 'go after her, man.' but Ephram didn't budge. He felt too horrible. He didn't know what had come over him, it just happened. He hated knowing that he hurt Amy, it killed him inside.  
  
He wanted to break down right there, but something inside of him was telling him to keep going, to go get Amy back before something happened that Ephram would regret, and that something was coming sooner than Ephram thought.  
  
So finally, with a little convincing, he got his legs to move...At first they felt stiff under him, but once he realized what he had to do, they got feeling back in them immediately. He walked past Bright, and then past the cheerleaders table, and finally out the cafeteria door. He looked down the hall, right and left, and soon knew where Amy had gone.  
  
Wendell had come up to him and told him he saw her run out the front doors with her backpack, and that she didn't look happy, but she wasn't upset either...She was mad, very, VERY mad.  
  
Ephram let out a heavy sigh and then ran out the doors. He ran through the schoolyard and straight toward where he knew Amy would go, to the diner. Everyone seemed to go there when they needed a place to relax. It was a nice calm place, and you could always talk to Nina.  
  
Ephram was going to make it to the diner, but something was going on there that nobody would like, especially Amy and Ephram.  
  
******  
  
"What do you mean Ephram left school again?" Dr. Brown looked at Edna, who was sitting at her desk in the old train station, "He did what? Okay, thank you." He hung up and gave Edna an uneasy look.  
  
"Trouble in paradise, doc?" Edna looked at him and gave him a small smile.  
  
"Ephram ran out of school again today." Edna didn't look surprised, "But there is a twist...He was running after Amy." That made her eyes widen a little, "Yeah, my expression exactly. Apparently they got into some kind of a fight, and Amy ran out of the school. About five minutes later Ephram went after her, but I don't know any more than that."  
  
"Well, let's just leave them alone and see what happens. You know those two kids don't get in fights easily, so it must be something pretty big. They can figure it out themselves, and if they have to leave the school grounds to do so, so be it." Edna stood up and patted Andy on the back, "It'll be okay Doc, they've both got strong heads on their shoulders, they can figure this out."  
  
Andy just stood there, not so sure about Edna's words.  
  
******  
  
When Ephram got to the diner something seemed different. He looked around, and everyone seemed to be really tense. He couldn't see a reason for them to be that way, but it soon became clear to him.  
  
"Let her go!!!" Nina's voice rang loud and clear from the back, and she soon appeared, following a masked man with a gun, and Amy, "She doesn't deserve this!!!"  
  
Ephram stood in shock, just like at the school, except this time it was because he was worried. He knew he had to save Amy, but he didn't know how.  
  
Amy looked at him, the last place she wanted him to be was here, "Ephram, get out of here, now." The guy had his arm around her neck, holding a gun to her head.  
  
He looked right at Ephram when she said that, and then smiled really big, "Is this your girlfriend?" Ephram just shook his head no, "Oh, okay, then you would mind if I shot her?"  
  
Before Ephram could stop them, the words "DON'T HURT HER!!" came out of his mouth. The gunman was surprised to see that this boy had the guts to yell at a guy like himself, but he didn't know Ephram from Adam and Eve, so how was he supposed to know what he got himself into.  
  
"So you don't want this pretty girl to die, do you?" He kept on smiling.  
  
"Of course not..." Ephram was struggling for words, "She's...She's my friend." Amy smiled a little bit at those words, but it was quickly wiped away when the gunman pulled his arm tighter around her neck, "I SAID DON'T HURT HER!!!!" Ephram was mad now, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop him from saving Amy.  
  
"What are you gonna do about it, huh? You aren't brave enough to take the bullet for this girl; you're too much of a coward."  
  
"I am not a coward." Ephram spoke through heavy breaths, "I will never be a coward."  
  
"Oh really? Then why are you still standing there?"  
  
Ephram knew he couldn't say, 'because you have to be distracted before I do anything.' that was just plain stupid. So he didn't say anything, he just looked down at his feet.  
  
"That's what I thought." Amy struggled in his arms, and so he pulled tighter, and she stopped immediately.  
  
"AAAHHHH!!!" Nina screamed from the back, throwing a big pot at the guy, it hit him, but he didn't let Amy go, he just stumbled a bunch.  
  
It was enough of a distraction for Ephram, he would have gone with anything that could help him save Amy, and this seemed to be the best. He ran toward the guy and hit right arm, the one holding Amy, as hard as he could. The guy screamed and let Amy go, but he grabbed Ephram as soon as she was out of reach.  
  
Ephram wasn't like Amy; he struggled almost more than the gunman could bear. The guy pointed the gun at him, but Ephram grabbed the hand with the gun and started pointing the gun at the ceiling, firing all the bullets the best he could.  
  
The gunman was getting the better of Ephram, but that wasn't stopping Ephram from saving Amy, and everyone else in the diner, "GET OUT, EVERYONE, NOW!!!!!!!!!" He looked over at Amy, who was shaking her head, and told her to go. She obeyed, as did everybody else.  
  
Soon it was only Ephram and the gunman in that building, fighting to either kill or keep alive. Ephram kept trying to pull the trigger, but it wasn't working, he couldn't get a firm grip on it. He kept reaching for it, but finally the gunman won, to an extent.  
  
He got one his left arm free and hit Ephram in the head as hard as he could. It only threw Ephram on the ground, nothing more. Ephram quickly looked up and saw that the guy was about to aim the gun right at him. There was no escape.  
  
Ephram's life flashed before his eyes, just like when he was on the mountain about to *fall. He didn't want to die yet, and definitely not this way. The gunman smiled and his finger flinched a little, but not before Ephram got out of the way.  
  
He had managed to get enough sense back in him to slide under one of the benches in the diner, just before the gun went of. He heard a few more shots go off, but he didn't get hit. He could see where the bullets fell, and they were very close to Ephram. Just then, he realized that he had trapped himself. He was caught in the corner under a bench, with no place to go.  
  
The gunman looked at Ephram and gave an evil laugh, one that chilled Ephram's spine. Ephram closed his eyes, ready to get shot at any moment, but just then he heard a click.  
  
The trigger had been pulled, but the gun didn't go off. It was empty, there were no more bullets. Ephram let out a sigh of relief and then scurried out from under the bench. He ran for the kitchen and grabbed a big cutting knife. With it, he ran back into the main dining area and look at the gunman with the same smile he had given only minutes before.  
  
"I told you I was not a coward!" Ephram ran and tackled the guy, pinning him on the ground, "Now if you move, this knife moves to you. Do you really want that?" The guy quickly shook his head and held his hand out where they could be seen, dropping the gun at the same time, "I didn't think so. Come with me."  
  
Ephram picked him up and carried him to the door. He looked outside and saw that there were police cars everywhere. He pushed the guy out the door, but didn't follow. He was too overwhelmed with everything that had just happened that day. The fight with Amy, and then this. He was having a hard enough time dealing with Annette's death; this was throwing him over the edge.  
  
Amy came running in; she went straight to Ephram's side, "Are you okay?" She grabbed him and hugged him when she realized he was. He didn't say anything, he didn't even hug back. He just sat there; sweat clinging to his dark brown hair, making it stick to his forehead, "I am so sorry this happened to you, Ephram. I wish we didn't get in that fight."  
  
Ephram then turned to Amy and stared at her. He couldn't believe what he had just heard, "This happen to me? This happened to you, Amy, I was just saving you. If we hadn't gotten into that fight, someone might be dead right now." Flashes of people screaming came to Ephram's mind, but he immediately blocked them, "If we hadn't gotten into that fight, Nina would probably be dead."  
  
Amy didn't say anything else; she just sat down beside him and kept him in her embrace. They both just sat there as the commotion of the outside world was ignored. They didn't move, or speak, or hardly even breathe for quite some time.  
  
Even though the diner had been held up, it was still the calmest and most comforting place to be. And so there they sat, for at least an hour, comfortably.  
  
**********************************************  
  
Please review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wish I could tell you the name of the next one, but I haven't figured that out yet. I am going to soon require at least 4 reviews per chapter, just so I know you want me to continue...lol, just kidding! But reviews are VERY welcome! The next chapter will be up shortly! Thank you for reading!  
  
*Story 1, Hanging by a Moment, chapter 5 


	6. Amy's and Andy's Talk

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
"Come on Ephram; let's get you to your dad's clinic." Amy pulled Ephram up with her arm around him, "I'm sure he'll be glad to know you're okay."  
  
Ephram didn't say anything; he just walked out of the diner with Amy. There were camera's and news reporters everywhere; apparently they had nothing better to do than cover this story.  
  
Amy kept leading Ephram through the crowds of people, not stopping for anyone. They finally made it into an open space, so Amy made a run for it, Ephram could barely keep up.  
  
"Could you go a little slower? I can't run that fast right now!" Ephram tried to get Amy to stop but she didn't.  
  
"You can rest when we get to your dad's office; we have to get you away from these people!" Amy looked back and smiled at Ephram, and then they kept going.  
  
They soon made it to the office and ran inside, "Amy, what are you two doing here?" Edna stood from her seat and looked at the two teenagers, "You look horrible, Ephram."  
  
"Thanks alot." He was breathing heavily and could hardly stand, so he went over to the nearest empty bench and sat down, "That wiped me out Amy."  
  
"It shouldn't have, are you okay?" Amy went and sat next to him.  
  
Edna looked at them and let out a small sigh, "I'm still waiting for an answer."  
  
"I was sick yesterday; it happened after I left school, but I got better really fast, I thought I was fine, but running took the life out of me." Ephram leaned his head up against the wall behind him and closed his eyes.  
  
"Oh, sorry." Amy smiled and then looked at her grandmother, who was standing in front of the bench with her arms crossed, "Oh yeah, sorry grandma. Ephram and I had a little fight at school and I ran out. I ran to the diner and after I got there this guy showed up, he had a gun."  
  
"A gun!?!" Edna let her arms fall to her side and her eyes get wide.  
  
"Yeah, but everyone is okay. Ephram saved us." She looked over at Ephram, he still had his eyes closed, but he was smiling a little, "The guy grabbed me by the neck and Ephram came in a minute later, he saved my life and alot of other people's. He could have been killed, and actually for a minute I thought he was dead, but that was after I was outside, before I went in and dragged him here."  
  
"When was this?" Edna was still standing, but she wasn't wide eyed anymore.  
  
"About an hour ago. Ephram and I sat in the diner for awhile, he looked like he just needed to sit there for a bit, and so we did." Amy looked over at Ephram; he was snoring a little bit now.  
  
Edna looked at him and smiled, "I'll go get the doc." She whispered.  
  
Amy just smiled and nodded a little bit. She looked back over at Ephram and then slowly pulled his head down so it was lying on her shoulder. He stayed asleep the whole time; apparently he really was wiped out.  
  
A few minutes later Andy walked into the waiting room with Edna, "What do you mean they're here?" Andy sounded angry, but when he saw his son asleep the way he was he couldn't help but smile.  
  
"He's had a rough day." Amy smiled and pointed to Edna, signaling for her to explain.  
  
She did and Andy didn't like it. He got a worried look on his face when he heard about the gunman, but eased up a little bit when Amy assured him Ephram was okay, just really out of it.  
  
Andy looked at Amy, and then at Ephram, smiling, "Okay, lets get him into one of the rooms, he can sleep there." He carefully picked Ephram up and tried not to wake him. He went into one of the few rooms in the building and laid him down, "He should be asleep for awhile, and he needs it. He hasn't been sleeping much this past week, I guess because of Annette."  
  
Amy's face grew grim when she heard that name. She knew Ephram was going through a hard time, and now she realized why he was acting the way he was in the cafeteria at school that afternoon. He needed someone there for him and she had been blown off for trying, but now she knew that she could NOT let him do that again. No matter what Ephram said to her she was going to be there for him, until the end. She loved him, but he already knew that.  
  
Now the question was how was she going help hi out 24/7? She couldn't be there all the time, and Andy wasn't doing much to help, he couldn't see that his son needed help. But that was about to change, "Dr. Brown can I talk to you?"  
  
"Sure Amy." Andy followed Amy into the next room, "What's wrong?"  
  
Amy turned around and smiled, "How did you know something was wrong?"  
  
"I know you care about Ephram, and I figured that's what this is about, and at this point in his life, if he's talked about, it isn't good." Amy smiled a little bigger but that quickly went away when she looked down at her feet. She had to let him know that his son was in trouble, but how?  
  
She decided to just go for it, let it all out, "Dr. Brown, Ephram is acting alot different than he used to. He yells at me more, he gets angrier more easily, and he seems to cut himself off from everyone else, he isn't eating at school, and he always looks so tired. I'm worried about him." She breathed a sigh of relief after getting that all out of her system.  
  
Dr. Brown took a deep breath, "I know Amy, I know he's like this, but there isn't anything I can do about it. It's all because of Annette, he won't eat or sleep because he's too upset, and he gets angry at people easily because he's too afraid of getting close to people because they might die on him, and he can't go through that again. That's why he's like that in there," He pointed to the next room, "He isn't just tired, he probably passed out because he was afraid of losing you to that gunman and the pressure just got to him. "He hasn't been doing so well lately. He's been throwing up, think that I don't know it, I saw him yesterday, but that was because he couldn't hide his dizziness or headaches any longer. He fell halfway down the stairs at our house because of them Amy, and it's getting to the point where I am going to have to put my foot down, he has to sleep, and he HAS to eat, I can't let him live like this any longer, he's gotten away with it long enough."  
  
Amy was surprised to hear about Ephram's accident the day before, and she felt horrible when she did. He had to be hiding some kind of pain, because falling down half a flight of stairs couldn't feel good. She didn't know what she could do to help Ephram, but she would do anything she could. She would make him eat at school, even if that meant she had to buy his lunch everyday, she would do it.  
  
Little did either of them know that Ephram was falling into a place that only Amy was going to be able to get him out of, and that was going to take some doing. He was going to go through one of the hardest times of his life, and it was going to take up alot of it too. 


	7. Coming Back

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
"These wounds won't seem to heal,  
  
This pain is just too real,  
  
There's just too much that time cannot erase"  
  
Ephram heard someone singing that song, but he couldn't tell who it was, and the song was in no way known to him. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it in his unconscious state.  
  
"You cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,  
  
You'd scream I'd fight away all of you fears,  
  
I've held your hand through all of these years,  
  
But you still have, all of me"  
  
He tried convincing his eyes to open and his mind to wake up, but it wasn't happening. He kept listening to the song, and he could feel it moving him inside. He knew what was happening now.  
  
Amy was singing that to him, she was sitting right next to him wherever he was, he couldn't remember. He felt her hand in his, but he didn't understand, if he could feel her hand, and hear her singing, why couldn't he wake up? What was wrong? He should be able to open his eyes and smile at her beautiful face, shouldn't he?  
  
Then it hit him, when he fell asleep in his dad's office, he just remembered where he was, he must not have only fallen asleep, he had passed out into a place that was completely dark, and he was slowly being brought back to reality. His mind was waking him up, but it wasn't time to say hello to the world yet, he was still I that dark place that he hated so much.  
  
But at least he knew Amy would be there when he woke up.  
  
******  
  
Amy sat with Ephram holding his hand and singing a song she had just recently heard on the radio called My Immortal. She had loved that song from the beginning, and she knew Ephram would too, but he wouldn't wake up so she could let him hear it.  
  
He stayed in the same position for over three hours, and she stayed with him, not wanting to leave his side, because she knew that if she left, he was going to be alone when he woke up, and he wouldn't want that, she knew he wouldn't.  
  
"You used to captivate me,  
  
By your resonating life,  
  
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind" She kept singing, hoping he would wake up and hear her, but he never did. He just laid there in what seemed to be a peaceful sleep, but it was really torturing Ephram beyond belief.  
  
He wanted to wake up, and he wanted her to know that he could hear her, but there was nothing he could do, he just remained in the blackness his mind had led him to, and it was driving him crazy.  
  
'I'm here Amy, I'm right here. I can hear you, I can feel your hand in mine, just don't stop singing.' He tried to tell her with his mind, but he knew that was useless. He mentally laughed at himself, 'You're an idiot Ephram Brown, you know she can't hear you, that's just plain crazy!'  
  
He didn't know it, but he was smiling, and that caught Amy's attention, "Ephram, Ephram can you hear me?" Amy stood up and walked a little closer to his bed, "Ephram wake up, we're al worried about you here, your dad can't work very well knowing you're like this, just wake up." Amy knew she was crazy, 'He can't hear me.' She thought to herself, but the funny thing was, he could.  
  
They were both thinking the same thing at the exact same time, thinking the same exact thing about each other. One of them was right, but the other one was wrong, Ephram being the first.  
  
Ephram struggled through the darkness this time. He tried seeing if there was any bright light he could walk towards, but he knew that was also crazy. 'WAKE UP EPHRAM, WAKE UP!!!' He yelled at himself, trying to get himself to open his eyes, and, surprisingly, it worked.  
  
He slowly began to see light, and then blurs, and then he could see Amy standing over him, smiling, "Hey buddy." She smiled a little bigger.  
  
He didn't smile he just let out a sigh of relief, "Man am I glad to see you." He looked over at the window; it was getting dark outside, 'Great, just what I need, more darkness.' "What time is it?"  
  
"It's about 6:30. You've been out for awhile, we've all been waiting for you to come back to us, you must have really been tired." She sat back down.  
  
"You have no idea." He smiled a little bit this time, but it quickly faded away when he remembered what he heard, "Was that you singing earlier?"  
  
Amy looked up at him and blushed, "You heard that? Why didn't you wake up?" She stood back up, but let go of his hand.  
  
"I couldn't." Amy gave him a weird look, "I know it sounds dumb, but I couldn't wake up, I don't know why, I just couldn't." He looked at the door, which was being opened.  
  
"Hey Ephram, how are you feeling?" It was Andy, he had been finished with work for quite some time, but he wanted to wait outside and let Amy spend time with him, "I heard the two of you talking and thought I'd see how you're feeling."  
  
"I'm a little tired, and I'm sore for some reason, but other than that I'm fine." He sat up on the bed, "Can we go home?"  
  
Andy smiled at Amy, and she smiled back, "Yeah, you need to eat something anyway, and I'm sure Amy's parents would love to see her again, so why don't I drop her off at her house and then we can go."  
  
"That sounds fine to me." Ephram got down from the bed and attempted to walk, but his legs didn't agree with that. He fell to the ground before he could grab onto to anything, which made him crash into a tray of needle and other things. He looked up at his dad and laughed a little, "Ouch."  
  
"Are you okay?" Andy offered his son a helping hand, which was graciously taken.  
  
"Yeah I'm fine; I guess my legs must have fallen asleep." He stood back up and steadied himself, this time successfully walked out of the clinic and to the car. He looked up at the sky and saw stars littering the air. He took a deep breath and smiled, "It's good to be back."  
  
Amy looked at Dr. Brown and gave him a worried look, and he gave her the same. They both knew that he meant something by that, if he even meant to say it out loud, but either way it didn't make sense, and that's what worried them.  
  
*************************************  
  
Okay, I need all of you to do me a HUGE favor...my bestest best friend in the entire world has written a story, but it isn't on this site...it's at fictionpress.net...the OTHER site. It's really good, it's called Never Give Up, it's in the romance section...Authors name is Gonzo, don't ask why, it's our secret...hehe...ANYWAY!!! Please go and read that story, it's really good, you'll like it....AND PLEASE KEEP REVIEWING!!! I promise I'll have the next chapter up sooner than I did this one; I've been really busy lately, which isn't usual. See you later!!! 


	8. Phone Call

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
Ephram got home, ate a little bit, but less than his father thought, and then went up to his room. He told his dad he was going to sleep, but for some reason he wasn't tired, at all.  
  
That song kept coming back to him, the one that Amy was singing before:  
  
You'd cry I'd wipe away all of your tears,  
  
You'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears,  
  
I've held you hand through all of theses years,  
  
But you still have,  
  
All of me...  
  
There was more to it he knew, but he didn't know what. It felt like she had been singing that to him, but even if she was it wasn't true, they had only known each other a little over a year, but it did feel like forever.  
  
He kept humming the tune to it, no matter how much he wanted it out of his head. Finally he though of an idea, he walked over to his computer and searched for that song online...The only thing that popped up was a song called My Immortal by Evanescence, "I might as well try it." He said as he clicked the lyrics to the song, it was the right one...He had found the song Amy had been singing.  
  
He downloaded it and listened to it several times, for some reason he couldn't stop smiling. He knew it was stupid, and he read what it was from, it was from the Daredevil movie, he guessed Amy had seen it recently, or else she wouldn't be singing it.  
  
It turned out he fell asleep to that song, but he fell asleep early into the morning, he had done a little bit of schoolwork, but not nearly enough to catch him up, and he had listened to more songs by Evanescence...The group was pretty good, but nothing Ephram would ever admit.  
  
He fell asleep at 5am the next day. His alarm was turned off, and he didn't turn it back on, so when his dad walked in at 6am seeing he wasn't awake yet, Andy just let his son sleep, "He needs it, he's had a rough month." Nobody could believe it had nearly been a month since Ephram met Annette, but it had...He had gone through so many things, and those things made it seem like time was faster than the speed of light, which is obviously impossible.  
  
******  
  
Ephram woke up at 10:36am and jumped out of bed, "Dad, why didn't you wake me up?" He looked all around his house but nobody was home, "Dad?" Andy had gone to work without bothering to even tell Ephram that he was late for school, "Well I can't go now. I'm too late."  
  
Just then the phone rang, but Ephram was letting the machine get it.  
  
BEEP..."Hey Ephram, it's Amy, I was just calling to see if you were alright, you aren't at school today and I was a little worried, but I'm sure you just slept late or something. If you still want to come to school Bright can pick you up at lunch, he'll be in the cafeteria at about noon, so you can call me then and I'll tell him. Or, if you're just standing by your machine listening to this, which I know you are, pick up the phone now and I can send him to get you..."  
  
Ephram picked up the phone and smiled, "You amaze me sometimes."  
  
Amy laughed, "What can I say? It's just part of my charm! So, do you want Bright to pick you up or not?"  
  
Ephram stood there for a second and thought about it, "Yeah sure, school won't make my day any worse...At least I hope it won't." Amy giggled a little bit and she was telling someone something, Ephram assumed it was Bright that she was talking to, telling him to get over to the Brown's house, "I have to get ready, so I guess I'll see you at school, Aims."  
  
"Okay that's fine, I'll see you then." Amy hung up her phone and put it back into her pocket, "Go pick him up and make sure he's okay. Ephram's been acting really strange lately."  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, Amy, he's always been strange, it just took you this long to see that I guess." He joked around and Amy hit him on his shoulder as he walked away, "Did you think that would hurt?" She punched him harder and he winced a little, "Ok, I won't mess with you again, I surrender, I'll go get the guy, jeez." He walked down the hall and grabbed his keys out of his pocket and walked out of the school.  
  
"Let's hope Ephram is going to be able to handle another day in hell." Bright muttered to himself as he opened his truck door. He had things planned for Ephram, things he didn't plan on telling anyone until he already did them.  
  
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I know it's short, and I know it sucks, but I haven't had much time to write and I thought y'all would like more story so here it is...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE tell me what you think of it. OH!! and I appreciate the reviews from everyone, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! 


	9. Fun for Bright

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
Ephram locked his front door and turned to the red truck pulling into his driveway. He smiled and Bright and waved, but got no greeting back.  
  
He opened the door and Bright gave him an odd look, "So how are you today Bright?" Ephram buckled his seatbelt.  
  
"I'm fine," he smirked evilly and looked out the front window, "How are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. I don't think anything could go wrong today." Ephram smiled but tried keeping it to himself.  
  
"If only you knew." Bright spoke, his words were barely audible.  
  
"What did you say?" Ephram looked at Bright, but the boy only shook his head and smiled that same evil smile.  
  
Bright kept driving for another few minutes and got to the school driveway, and passed it.  
  
Ephram turned in his seat and looked back, "Bright, I think you missed our stop." He turned back around and looked at the blond boy.  
  
"No I didn't." Bright laughed, "When we stop you'll be unconscious."  
  
Ephram had no clue what Bright was talking about, but it wasn't sounding good, "What do you mean?" He looked at the road, and that's when he realized they had to have been going at least 70 miles an hour on a 20 M.P.H. street, "Bright are you crazy? What has gotten into you?"  
  
Bright grabbed Ephram's shirt collar and violently shook him, "You've gotten to me. I can't stand you Brown, you have taken my little sister away from me, and I don't like that!" He was talking through his teeth.  
  
"Look, if this is about Amy then you have nothing to worry about. I don't like her more than a friend, I swear!" Ephram was getting more freaked the more Bright sped up. Everything was going by in a blur.  
  
"Heh, am I supposed to believe that? I know better. I see the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you. You like her, and that's all there is to it!" Bright sped a little faster and Ephram was now breathing heavily from fear, "Are you scared?"  
  
"Just a little bit." Ephram hated admitting that he was scared, but there was no way to deny it right then, "You know you could slow down a little bit...Please."  
  
Bright was still clenching his fist around Ephram's shirt, "Yeah, I could." He looked at the road and then back at Ephram, "Or not." He sped up. The speedometer was now at 110.  
  
'Oh my god,' Ephram thought, 'he's going to kill us!' "Bright please, you have to slow down. If you kill us then Amy will be devastated!" Ephram pleaded.  
  
"Whoever said anything about killing both of us?" Bright smiled at Ephram and pulled his collar at an angle so that he went towards the dashboard.  
  
Ephram saw the tan colored vinyl coming quickly toward his face; he had no time to react. He felt a sharp pain in his head, and then everything went black.  
  
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I know it has taken me an unbelievably long time to upload this chapter, but I have been unbelievably preoccupied, and I'm sorry it took me this long. I will not be able to post long chapters, because I am getting busier by the minute, and the more I do the less time I have to write this. But I promise I will write more often, that shouldn't be a problem. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; there will be more sooner than later...I hope...heh ( 


	10. Tracks

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
Ephram could feel his head pounding before anything else. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, and he could feel cool air brushing against his cheeks and hands. A painful groan escaped him and he slowly shook his head and opened his eyes.  
  
He found himself in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. He was in a tall grassy area, it obviously wasn't in Everwood. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked around, but the dead grass was too tall from where he was positioned, he couldn't see anything.  
  
He managed to get to his feet, slowly, and it took a minute, but he managed. He stumbled a little, but then regained his balance, "Where in the world am I?" He whispered to himself, "And what happened?" He looked down at the ground and twisted his lips a little as he scratched the back of his neck.  
  
Everything that had happened in Bright's truck slowly came back to Ephram. He remembered every word that was said and every place that they went, up until Bright smashed his head up against the dashboard. He turned around several times to see if he could figure out where he was, but he could only see grass, and alot of it.  
  
"I guess walking is my only option." He looked around once more and then realized that someone had made marks in the grass. Bright had to have gotten him there somehow, and he didn't cover his tracks very well.  
  
Ephram curled the right side of his lips to form a half smile and he quickly followed the footprints and grass that had been pushed aside, "He really doesn't live up to his name." Ephram continued to follow the tracks until he saw tire tracks, "And here we find the getaway vehicle tracks."  
  
He continued to follow a little further until he heard the sound of cars flying by him. He looked to his left, where the sounds were coming from, and ran in that direction. It was getting dark, and so he needed to find his way home quickly. His head was killing him and so it was getting difficult to stay standing. He stumbled several times and whenever he stopped he got dizzy, so he rarely stopped.  
  
He reached the road in a matter of minutes. It wasn't a busy one, but it had enough traffic that he could flag a red Coupe Devil down. The car pulled to a stop at the side of the road and Ephram ran to the passenger's window, "So you know which way Everwood is?" He asked the brown haired girl in the driver's seat.  
  
She smiled at him sweetly and nodded, "Yeah, it's about twenty miles behind us." She was fair skinned and had bright blue eyes, "What are you doing all the way out here on foot if you're looking for Everwood?"  
  
Ephram shook his head and looked at her with a smile, "It's a long story. Thanks for the info; I have to go before I get killed out here!" He ran in the opposite direction the car had come from and waved to the girl as she started driving again.  
  
"Twenty miles this way?" Ephram started talking to himself as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Where did Bright take me?" He looked at the field one last time as he slowly progressed toward Everwood. His headache had gone down a little bit, but it was still bad enough that he got dizzy and stumbled a little bit.  
  
He was going to have a rough trip home, and it was going to take longer than he would have expected, or wanted.  
  
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Ok, there is the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed it...Ephram is going to go through rough times in the next few chapters, so please don't stop reading!!! ( 


	11. Guilt

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
  
The more and more Ephram walked, the dizzier he became. His mind was becoming a blur, and the only thing he could think about was Annette. He could still see her. Her laugh rang through his pounding head as he turned down a small dirt road tha he knew led to Everwood.  
  
Tears began to well up in his eyes, and tiny drops fell from his cerulean eyes as his pace became slower, "Keep moving, Ephram," he spoke to himself in a soft whisper as it became harder for him to move, "you have to get back home, back to Amy and your family." He walked a about another mile, repeating those words as he went, "Screw my family!" He stopped and sat down on the ground, breathing heavily.  
  
He couldn't seem to think straight, and no matter what he did, his thoughts always trailed off to Annette, whether he was thinking about hot dogs or dog leashes, it always went back to Annette.  
  
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, only meaning to rest there for a minute and not fall asleep, but his body slowly shut down and his thoughts turned into dreams.  
  
****************  
  
"Amy, where is Ephram!?!" Andy grabbed the girl gently by her shaking arms as she stood in his clinic office, "What happened to my son?"  
  
She stood there, tears flowing freely down her porcelain cheeks, "I don't know where he is, but I can tell you some of what happened." She walked over to a chair in front of Dr. Brown's desk and got comfortable, "I had called him earlier today and told him to come to school, and that Bright was on his way to pick him up, so Ephram agreed to come." Her eyes filled with more salty tears as she spoke, her voice quivering with every word, "Bright got there, I guess, but he didn't take Ephram to school, he drove Ephram somewhere out of town, but he didn't tell me where. All Bright told me was that Ephram was out there someone, unconscious in a field, and he won't say anything else!" She broke down after that, completely enveloped in guilt, "It's my fault Dr. Brown. If I hadn't told Bright to go pick Ephram up, he wouldn't have hurt him."  
  
Andy quickly walked over to her chair and knelt down beside her, "Amy, you were only trying to help Ephram, this isn't your fault in any way." He embraced her and looked her in her watery eyes, "Do you have any idea where Bright might have taken Ephram?"  
  
She sat still for a minute, thinking hard about any place her best friend could be. All of a sudden her eyes lit up and a small smile appeared on her lips, "There is only one place out of town that has a field, it isn't even another town, and it's just a place between Everwood and Denver." She looked Dr. Brown in the eye and gave him an apologetic look, "That place is over 30 miles long. He could be anywhere."  
  
Andy held her shoulders once more as he knelt in front of her and looked down at the wooden floor, "At least we know where to begin looking." He looked back up at her and returned the look she was giving him, "Would you be able to tell me where to go if you rode with me?" Amy nodded and held a Kleenex up to her red nose, "Okay, good." He stood up and looked around the room, "I just hope we won't have to come back here after we find him."  
  
Thoughts rushed through Amy's head, she was trying to figure out what Dr. Brown meant, and then it clicked. 'What if Ephram is hurt badly?' It felt like a bomb had exploded in her head as that thought raced through. She didn't want to think about it, and she was brought back to reality when Dr. Brown put a hand on her shoulder and indicated the front doors with a nod of his head, "Right, let's go." She stood up and followed him out, hoping the same thing he had said just a few moments before. 


	12. Fear of a Father

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
  
IMPORTANT: If you have NOT read my other two stories before this one it will make no sense! I know I have already confused some of you, and I'm sorry! Please read Hanging by a Moment and Right Place, Right Time! (Just to let everyone know, there are 2 stories on here called Right Place, Right Time...Mine will be pushed further back) Okay, with that said...Here is the next chapter!!  
  
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Andy hastily drove down the rode, looking on both sides, careful not to pass any possibility of his son. He was a nervous wreck, and he let it show. Beads of sweat were gathering on his furrowing brow, threatening to slowly trickle down and sting his already teary eyes.  
  
"Dr. Brown, I'm sure Ephram's fine, he's a strong boy." Amy put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and slowly turned back to the front window, 'Now if only I could get myself to believe that.' She knew in the back of her that something was wrong with Ephram. She just by the way Bright had described the car ride to wherever they went.  
  
***Earlier that day***  
  
Amy walked down the halls of the high school cheerfully, waiting for Ephram to arrive. She got to her locker and turned her head to the left to see Bright walking through the doors, but Ephram was nowhere to be seen.  
  
She ran over to him and gave him an inquisitive look, "Bright, where's Ephram? I thought you were going to pick him up?" She looked over her brother's shoulder to see if Ephram was close behind, but he never walked through the doors.  
  
"We went for a little ride," the smirk on Bright's face made a chill run up Amy's spine, "He's going to be fine, but he's lying in a field somewhere," he cocked his head to the left and smiled, "unconscious."  
  
Amy's eyes went wide and all of a sudden hitting her brother as hard as she could became an option. Hard thrusts of her fists at his chest and stomach brought Bright to his knees, "Where is he!?!" Amy lifted his chin so she could see his face and slapped it hard, "Where did you take Ephram?" Her voice was becoming desperate now, bits of crackling in her tone as she held back the stinging tears that threatened to jump from her lashes.  
  
The smirk returned to Bright's face, an evil glow in his dark eyes joining it, "He's out of town, and that's all I'm saying." With one last punch to her brother's face, Amy ran out of the school and straight toward Dr. Brown's clinic. She had to help Ephram, no matter what.  
  
***Present time***  
  
The sun had fallen behind the horizon, setting a purple and yellow glow in the cold air. It calmed Amy to look up at the sky, but her mind kept going back to Ephram, and she looked down just in time.  
  
"Dr. Brown, stop!" She pointed to a stilled figure lying on the left side of the road, "I think that's Ephram!" Amy jumped out of the car just as it stopped and ran back to the body in the semi-tall grass.  
  
His pale features and dark, matted hair was enough to let Amy know what she suspected was true. She picked his cool hand up in her own and started rubbing it so he would be warm, and to her relief, he moved.  
  
A small groan emitted from his red, chapped lips as he slowly opened his eyes, "What happened?" A scraggly and quiet voice caressed Amy's ear and a few coughs came after it, "Where am I, Aims?" He looked into her compassionate eyes with a questioning look, and then it turned to a look of worry, "Oh no, why did I go with him? I knew I shouldn't have ridden with your brother!" He took his hand away from Amy's and put them both on his forehead, which was still pounding.  
  
"Ephram, I'm sorry, this is my entire fault. I shouldn't have told you to come to school today, or at least not had Bright come and pick you up." She tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his left arm, but she then realized that he was shaking violently. She looked behind her and ran back to Dr. Brown, who was still standing by the vehicle, "Dr. Brown, he's shaking badly, and I don't think he's crying, I think he's shivering."  
  
Andy looked over to his son, seeing his trembling body, he ran over to Ephram and picked him up swiftly, "We have to get him someplace warm. There's no telling how long he's been out here in this temperature." Andy put Ephram in the back seat after Amy opened the door for him and buckled his son in safely.  
  
Ephram was half there now. His eyes were rolling to the back of his head and his body had become limp, "Da...Dad." Ephram grabbed Andy's arm, making the older man turn around quickly and look at his son, "I'm sor...Sorry for the w...Way I've acted...These past few we...Weeks." Andy looked lovingly into Ephram's fully aware eyes and tilted his head to the right, "I love you."  
  
Ephram's body went completely flaccid only moments after he uttered those words and Andy's eyes went wide. 'He's going to be fine, just keep telling yourself that, Andy. Your son is going to be fine.' Those words kept flying through Andy's brain as he flashed his emergency lights and sped down the road, causing dirt to fly all around them.  
  
Amy buckled herself quickly and turned around almost every minute to make sure Ephram was still breathing. She didn't know what was wrong with him, and wasn't sure if she wanted to know, but she knew it wasn't good.  
  
She wanted to be able to help Ephram right then, to be able to hold him and make all of his worries go away, but she couldn't, and that upset her more than anything.  
  
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If you didn't read the IMPORTANT thing at the top, please do. Like it says, it's important. I will update more whenever I get the chance...At least this time you didn't have to wait a long time.  
  
Thanks for everyone's support! 


	13. The Great Awakening

The Mourning After  
  
PG-13  
  
I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to the WB.  
  
IMPORTANT: If you have NOT read my other two stories before this one it will make no sense! I know I have already confused some of you, and I'm sorry! Please read Hanging by a Moment and Right Place, Right Time! (Just to let everyone know, there are 2 stories on here called Right Place, Right Time... (Mine will be pushed further back) Okay, with that said...Here is the next chapter!!  
  
******************  
  
Ephram woke up in a bright room filled with people. At first he wasn't sure where he was, but then it hit him, "The hospital." He spoke out loud in a quiet, raspy voice, "Why am I here?"  
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to the left from the bed he was laying on to see his dad sitting next to him, "You passed out on the way here. Amy and I found you on the side of the road in another town and we brought you straight here." The concern was evident in Andy's eyes as he took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his tangled hair.  
  
"Where's Delia?" Ephram looked around the room filled with people he now recognized. The Abbott's (minus Bright) were there, as well as Amy's grandparents and Nina, but Delia was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"She's with your grandparents at home." Ephram looked over at his father with confusion written on his features, "Ephram," Andy took Ephram's hand in his and squeezed tight, "you've been unconscious for two weeks."  
  
Ephram's eyes went wide and he stared up at the ceiling, 'Two weeks?' he began thinking to himself, 'How did I pull that off?' he tried to think about other things than sleeping for so long, but the only other thing that came to his mind was Annette. He couldn't get her out of his mind, and then he remembered something.  
  
He thought back to the night he had passed out and remembered seeing her there, sitting on the side of the road with him, and then in the car. She kept telling him that everything was going to be alright, and that he was going to be alright, but something didn't feel right. He wanted her to stay there forever so that they could be together again and he could be happy, but that never happened.  
  
"Ephram, what's wrong?" Amy walked over and saw the tears in her friend's eyes. She put her left hand on his right shoulder and squeezed his other hand with her right one, "Are you okay?"  
  
Ephram nodded slowly and blinked the tears that hadn't escaped him back, "Yeah," he croaked out, "I'm fine." He took a deep breath and collected himself before looking into her loving eyes, "I'm glad you're here with me Amy." They both smiled and she squeezed his hand tighter as Andy stood up and shooed everyone out of the room.  
  
"I'm glad you're okay Ephram, it's really great to see you awake." He pulled her closer to him and reached up with his left hand and pulled her head closer to his own, "Whoa, what's gotten into you?" She asked with a giggle.  
  
He smirked, the right side of his lips curling up, and pulled her a little closer, "This." he whispered quietly, just before pulling her all the way down so their lips connected in a small yet passionate kiss. He released her head, but she stayed down, causing Ephram's heart to beat faster.  
  
Amy looked up at the heart monitor while still locking lips with him and smiled as the lines on it bounced higher than normal. She knew there was no threat, it was because of what was happening, but she decided to pull away. Her eyes grew wide and her smile even wider as she looked into his deep, chocolate brown eyes, "Wow," Her smile disappeared and a confused look took its place, "Does this mean we're back together?"  
  
Ephram laughed and playfully slapped the air toward her, "Yes!" He grabbed a hold of her shirt and pulled her to him again, "Come here you..." He pulled her close to his lips again before he got a chance to finish his sentence and smiled at her before connecting their lips once more, "I've missed this." Her left eyebrow twisted up into another confused look and then he showed her what he meant as he pulled her down again, this time making sure she couldn't pull away.  
  
'Thank you God, for so many things,' Amy started thinking things that she never thought she would again, 'thank you for letting Ephram live, and especially bringing him back to me,' she smiled inwardly as her mind started racing, 'and for this.' She enveloped her tongue into his mouth and they began playing tonsil hockey like they used to.  
  
Nothing was going to separate them now, except for one minor detail that was now looking into the hospital room through the small window in the door.  
  
Bright was back.  
  
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I know I jumped ahead a little, but I want to move things along...That chapter was one of the worse ones...They SHOULD get better, but, with me, no promises...I hope you enjoyed it though!! =D 


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